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vMISSOURI: 

ITS HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, RESOURCES, AND 
PRESENT CONDITION. 



A DISCOURSE 

Delivered at the request of the U. S. Centennial Commission, 

and dy appointment of the Governor of the State, 

in the Judges' Hall of the 

INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION. 

Centennial Celedration, at Philadelphia, July 28th, 1876. 

BY 

\ 

OF ST. LOUIS. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
PKINTED FOR THE MISSOURI COMMISSION, 

118 7 6. -:). N 



By Transfer 

MAY Ig 19,7 



ADDRESS 



OF 



HON. THOS. ALLEN, 



OF 



ST. LOUIS, 



ON THE 



HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, RESOURCES, AND 
PRESENT CONDITION OF 

MISSOURI, 

DELIVERED BY APPOINTMENT 

OF THE CEJ^rEJ<!J^lAL C0MM1SS10J<! , 

AT THE 

%^m% litil, |nJj| 281^, 1876. 



PHILADELPHIA : 
PKINTED FOE THE MISSOURI COMMISSION, 

18 7 6. 



■Ats 



CAMPBELL PRESS PRINT, CENTENNIAL GROUNDS. 



MISSOURI. 

lUe history, Ifiaracteristics, Irogress J present coiulifiou of tlie Stnie. 

An address delivered hy the Hon. Thoni.as Allen, 

of St. Louis, at the Centennial Exposition, 

Philadelphia, July 28th, i8y6. 



The territory embraced within the present state of Missouri, in com- 
mon with, perhaps, the whole valley of the Mississippi, and the valleys 
of its tributaries, far back in the world's history, was occupied by a 
race of wdiich we have no ^vritten records, or even traditions. They 
built mounds of earth, habitations, and apparently fortifications, used 
bricks, made earthen-ware and cloth, cut rude pipes and figures out of 
stone, made images of men and animals and reptiles out of clay, orna- 
mented their pottery with rude j^aintings and traceries, and fashioned 
some of their household utensils into graceful forms. A few specimens 
of their bones and works are within the halls of this exposition. AVho 
they were, whence they came, what was their color, and whither they 
went, we can only conjecture. We infer from their works, that they 
were superior to the Indians who followed them, but far inferior to the 
European races succeeding. 

At the time that De Soto, (1541 ) struck the Mississippi River at the 
35th parallel, and moved up the river far enough north, perhaps, to 
touch the south-eastern borders of the present territory of Missouri, 
the country on both sides of the river was inhabited by Indians of the, 
same type as many of those still existing. Those of the immediate 
south, were called Akansa ; those of the east, the Illinois ; those of the 
interior and north, were the Osages, the Missouries, the Dacotahs, the 



6 

Sioux, and other \yandering tribes. From one of these tribes, the name 
Missouri is derived ; and by some it is supposed to signify " mad," and 
by others " muddy," as applied to the characteristics of the river, upon 
the banks of which the tribe dwelt. 

The Spaniards possessing Florida, the English, the country east of 
the Alleghanies, and the French, Nova Scotia, and Canada, furnished 
the base for exploring expeditions to the country of the Missouri, by 
representatives of each of those nations. 

The French Jesuit Missionaries, Marquette and Joliet, were the first 
to penetrate the country, by the way of the Wisconsin River from the 
Great Lakes to the Mississippi, and to traverse the entire front of 
Missouri. Then followed La Salle and Hennepin, who went further 
down the Mississippi, and established colonies in Illinois opj^osite Mis- 
souri, from wdience the first settlements in the latter were derived. 
Afterwards, viz : in 1682, La Salle having discovered the mouth of the 
Mississippi, took formal possession of the country in the name of Louis 
the XIV., the reigning king of France, and in his honor christened the 
country Louisiana. Thus the French laid a foundation for the claim 
by right of discovery, to the Mississippi valley. They soon began to 
look into the country on the west bank of the river, and in 1705, sent 
an exploring party up the Missouri River as far as the mouth of the 
Kansas. In 1712, the whole country was granted, by letters patent, 
to Crozat. A governor (M. de la Motte) was appointed, sent out and 
began the exercise of civil authority in the country for the first time 
in 1713. The mines and precious metals seemed to be the great objects 
of pursuit, but as the search was not attended with notable success, the 
charter of Crozat, in five years, was surrended to the King. Then 
came the company of the west, with the celebrated John Law at its 
head, to whom the colony of Louisiana was transferred. Stimulated 
by an enormous issue of paper money, the most extravagant hopes and 
speculations were excited, resulting in gambling, losses, and disastrous 
end in 1731. A wave of immigration and enterprise was, however, 
inaugurated, which flowed on. 

In 1762, the country west of the Mississippi was ceded by France 
to Spain, and by the treaty of 1763, the Mississippi became the bound- 
ary between the American territorial claims of England and France, 
and thus, the principal French settlements, being east of the river, found 
themselves under the dominion of Great Britain. Without knowing 
it, they began to exchange the jurisdiction of England for that of 
Spain, by moving to the west side of the river, and thus began the first 
settlements of Missouri. 



From Kaskaskia, in Illinois, probably as early as 1735, came the 
first movement into Missouri, and a settlement was made at what was 
called the " Post of St. Genevieve of the Illinois." The Spanish Gov- 
ernment, its governor residing at New Orleans, made many grants of 
mines, trading privileges and lands all along the western bank of the 
Mississippi, as far north as Dubuque. A monopoly of the fur trade 
with the Indians of Missouri, and with those west of the Mississippi 
above the Missouri, was granted in 1763 to one Pierre Laclede Liguest, 
and in 1764, he established a post, which proved the leading and most 
important one at the present site of the city of St. Louis, and laid the 
foundation of the great city of Missouri. 

Settlements were also made at St. Charles, Portage des Sioux, 
Carondelet, and other places in Missouri. 

Thus the fur traders became the pioneers of civilization west of the 
Mississippi, and their agents, voyageurs, trappers, and traders, penetrated 
the wilderness in every direction. New Madrid was settled by French 
from Canada in 1780, and followed by a colony from New Jersey. The 
Indians about there at that time were the Delawares, and a few camps 
of the Shawnese. Daniel Boone arrived in the Boones Lick Country 
from Kentucky in 1797. As early as 1801, one of these Pioneers, 
pushing on to the west, made the first overland journey we know of, to 
the country now known as New Mexico. 

In 1801, the whole territory of Louisiana was retroceded by the 
Spanish to the French, and the latter sold the country to the United 
States in 1803, for fifteen millions of dollars. Congress immediately 
divided the province into two territories ; the sothern-most one, bearing 
the name of the Territory of Orleans, and the nothern-most one, that 
of the District of Louisiana. The latter embraced a large territory 
north and west beyond the present boundaries of the State of Missouri. 

l§nk$n yxi$$0$$mtt uf itf i\$ % ^. 

In March, 1804, the District of Upper Lousiana, then containing 
only 10,000 people, was formally taken possession of by the United 
States Government, through a certain Capt. Stoddard, of its army, and 
the American flag, then only 28 years old, for the first time floated 
in the air west of the Mississippi, over the Government House in St. 
Louis. In 1803, the expedition of Lewis and Clark, up the Missouri, 
and across the continent took place, and returned in 1806. By Act of 
Congress of March, 1805, the Territory of Louisiana was organized, 
and a governor (James Wilkinson) appointed. The first military 
fort of the United States west of the great river, was established at 



8 

Belle Fountain, near the mouth of the Missouri, in 1806. Immigration 
very soon commenced, and in 1810, the population of the territory had 
increased to 20,845-. 

A memorable earthquake occured in the vicinity of New Madrid in 
December, 1811, continuing, with intermissions, several weeks. A 
considerable extent of country on either side of Little River, on the 
St. Francis, even into Arkansas, and on the Reel Foot Bayou, in Ten- 
nessee, was sunken about ten feet below the former level. Only two lives 
were known to have been lost by its effects, and Congress relieved the 
inhabitants, in 1815, by allowing the settlers certificates of re-location, 
by which they were enabled to secure again a quantity of public land 
equal in extent to that which they lost. Many of these New Madrid 
floats were located in the valley of the Missouri, which had already at- 
tracted many immigrants from Kentucky. The claims made under 
New Madrid floats were fruitful of litigation. 

In June, 1812, Congress organized Missouri Territory with a 
governor and general assembly. William Clark, appointed by the 
president of the U. S., held the office of governor so long as Missouri 
was a territory ; viz : until 1820. During that period, the territory 
was represented in Congress by one delegate. The territory extended 
north to the British possessions, and west to the boundaries of Mexico. 
The people suffered during the war of 1812, from Indians incited to 
hostility by British agents, and were obliged, for their own protection, 
to organize companies of rangers, and to erect stockade forts in that part 
of the state now known as Howard and Boone countries. The tribes, 
from which the inhabitants suffered chiefly, were known as Sacs and 
Foxes, lowas, Kickapoos, Pottawottamies, and Miamis. Frontier life 
was a continual peril, marked by frequent plunderings, assassinations, 
open conflicts, and in some instances, memorable deeds of heroism. 
The country improved slowly, new counties were organized, some of 
them of enormous dimensions, but of feeble powers ; and conveniently, 
as being already prepared, the common law of England of a general 
nature, and the statutes of England, enacted prior to the fourth year of 
James I., of a general nature, were adopted as the laws of Missouri. 

The first steamboat, the Gen. Pike, which ascended the Mississippi 
above the mouth of the Ohio, reached St. Louis, August 2d, 1817. The 
first to enter the Missouri River was the Independence, which, leaving St. 
Louis, May 15th, 1819, ascended the Missouri as far as old Chariton. 
In June, 1819, a government expedition, consisting of four steamboats 



and nine keel boats, started on the exploration of the Missouri River, 

which they ascended as far as the Yellowstone. 

» 

In 1818, Missouri applied for admission into the Union as a State. 
In the preparation of a bill in Congress to provide for the formation 
of a State Constitution by the people of the Territory, a restriction 
relative to slavery was introduced, which led to a long and violent 
discussion. During the excitement, the banks suspended S23ecie pay- 
ments, and much disorder prevailed. After two years of controversy, 
the celebrated Missouri compromise, confining slavery thereafter to a 
line south of latitude 36. 30, was effected by the act of March 6th, 
1820, which being accepted by the people in convention at St. Louis, 
July 19th, 1820, Missouri was admitted as a State into the Union, by 
joint resolution of Congress of March 2d, 1821, and by proclamation 
of August lOtli, 1821. She being the 11th state added to the original 
13, the number by her admission became 24. A state constitution 
was framed in June, 1820. The area comprised within the new state 
was 62,182 square miles. In August, the first governor, Alexander 
McNair, w^as chosen, and in September, the first general assembly con- 
vened in St. Louis, and the first U. S. senators, Thomas H. Benton 
and David Barton were elected. The Seat of Government was fixed at 
St. Charles, where it continued until 1826, when it was moved to Jef- 
ferson City, as a geographical centre, where it has since remained. 
The first census taken in 1821, showed a population in the State of 
70,647, of whom 11,254 were slaves. The number of Counties were 25, 
which have increased to 114 at the present time. The State w^as the 
23d in rank in the Union. But population increased in the first de- 
cade, 1820 to 1830, 94 per cent, and she became the 21st in rank. 
The Indian title to a strip of land 24 miles wide along the western 
borders from the Missouri to Arkansas, was extinguished in 1825, by 
treaty with the Kansas Indians. Fort Osage, about twenty miles from 
the border, and which, since 1808, had been the rendezvous of num- 
erous Indian tribes, was then abandoned. Between 1830 and 1840, 
the increase was 173 per cent, and the State was the 16th in rank, and 
by act of Congress of June 7th, 1836, her western boundary was ex- 
tended to include the Platte Purchase containing an area of 3,168 
square miles, making her total area as at present, 65,350 square miles. 
The Indian title to the Platte Purchase was extinguished in 1837. 
From 1840 to 1850 the increase was 77.75 j^er cent, and the rank rose 
to the 13th. From 1850 to 1860, population increased 73.30 percent, 



10 

and the State became the 8th in rank. In the last decade, between 
1860 and 1870, the increase of population was only 51.52 per cent, but 
more than double the per cent of increase of the United States for the 
same period, and the State rose to the rank of 5th in the Union. Her 
population, by the census of 1870, was 1,721,295. The only States ex- 
celling her in population were, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and 
Illinois. The population of the State is now estimated at over 2,000.- 
000. 

A regiment of mounted volunteers were raised in the State in 1832, 
to aid in suppressing the Black Hawk Indian war, and a regiment was 
sent to Florida in 1837, to aid the government in the war with the 
Seminoles. During the Mexican war, commenced in 1846, Missouri 
raised five or six regiments, and the expedition under Col. Doniphan, 
descending upon Chihuahua, will not be forgotten. It has been com- 
pared to that of Xenophon. 

A new constitution, principally to remedy inequality in representa- 
tion, was modeled by a convention called for the purpose in 1845, but 
it was rejected by about 9,000 majority in a vote cast of about 60,000. 

gtt l\t Sittif 1i[nr. 

When, in 1861, the country was threatened with civil war, and the 
newly elected governor, C. F. Jackson, in his inaugural address of 
January 4th, had insisted that Missouri must stand by the other slave- 
holding states, whatever course they might pursue, it was most fortun- 
ate that the legislature, in the same month, ordered an election, by the 
people, of members to form a convention empowered to consider the 
then existing relations between the United States, the people and 
government of the different states, and the Government and people of 
the State of Missouri ; and to adopt such measures for vindicating the 
sovereignty of the State and the protection of its institutions, as should 
appear to them to be demanded. The election of delegates to this con- 
vention showed clearly that the people of Missouri were, by a large 
majority, decidedly in favor of adhering to the Union. Though the 
convention received a commissioner from the State of Georgia, who 
submitted the articles of secession adoj^ted by that State, and urged 
Missouri to join the Southern confederacy, it informed him through a 
committee that " Missouri emphatically declined to share the honors of 
secession," and on the 19th of March, the convention by a vote of 
89 to 1, declared that " there is no adequate cause to impel Missouri to 
dissolve her connection with the Federal Union." The convention 
adjourned subject to call by its committee on federal relations. The 



11 

legislature, then in session, did not agree with this convention, but in- 
cited by rash leaders on both sides, and especially by the incident of 
the capture of a camp of militia in St. Louis, the firing upon Fort 
Sumter, and the call of the president for troops, suddenly passed an act 
appropriating all the money in the treasury, and all to be collected 
from the taxes of 1860 and 1861, to the arming and equipping of the 
militia, authorizing the governor to purchase arms, and subjecting every 
able bodied man to military duty, and putting all under the command 
of the governor. The excitement then became very great, and con- 
flicts ensued in various parts of the State, and the Union cause lost 
many friends by ill-advised measures. The convention was again 
called together in July, and among other grave and important acts, it 
declared the oflSce of its president vacant, he having attached himself 
to the confederate cause, and elected a new president ; it deposed the 
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary of State, by a vote of 
56 to 25, declaring those oflices vacant, and immediately filled them by 
new appointments. The administration thus brought into power, was 
acknowledged and supported by a majority of the people of the State, 
though some of the oflicers deposed continued to claim the right to 
exercise their functions outside of the State, and within the southern 
confederacy which they joined. The deposed Governor died during 
the war in another state, and the other deposed officers did not return 
until the war was over. The affairs of the State during the war were 
administered by the Governor appointed by the convention, and though 
several severe battles within its borders were fought, and parts of the 
State were subjected to the depredations of guerillas, yet the State 
continuing to be governed by the convention, as a Avhole remained loyal 
to the Union, furnishing troops, and advancing money to sustain it. The 
convention which first assembled February 28th, 1861, held four sub- 
sequent sessions, and adjourned sine die June 15th, 1863. 

In the midst of the serious divisions which existed among the people 
of Missouri, it was difficult, if not impossible, during the conflict to ob- 
tain fair and free elections, but the general assembly of the State came 
together again, and on the 13th of February, 1864, passed an act 
authorizing the call of a convention to consider such amendments to 
the constitution of the State as might be, by it, deemed necessary for the 
emancipation of slaves ; to preserve in purity the elective franchise to 
loyal citizens, and for the promotion of the public good. This conven- 
tion, composed of sixty-six members, met in St. Louis, January 6th, 1865, 



12 

and on the 11th, passed an ordinance emancipating the slaves of the 
State, by a vote of 60 to 4, to take immediate effect. It was supposed 
that the number of slaves had considerably diminished during the war, 
and that, although the number in 1860 was 114,9ol, yet at the date of 
this ordinance of emancipation, the number was probably less than 
100,000. 

A new constitution was prepared and proclaimed as adopted by 
the people July 1st, 1865, by a vote, as stated, of 43,670 in favor 
to 41,808 against it. By this constitution, an oath of loyalty was 
established ; all property, including churches and cemeteries, must be 
taxed ; state aid to railroads was prohibited ; religious societies were 
restricted in the ownership of land, and all legacies and devises to min- 
isters, religious teachers, and religious societies, were declared void, 
and no one should vote after January 1st, 1876, unless he could read 
and write. 

This constitution, with the exception of a few subsequent amendments, 
was the organic law of Missouri for about ten years, when a new one 
was adopted, by a convention called for the purpose, on the 2d of 
August, 1875, and accepted by the people by a large majority, at an' 
election held October oOth, 1875. This new constitution is well calcu- 
lated to secure economy, and to prevent corruption in administration, to 
reduce taxation, and prevent further increase of public debts, both 
state and municipal. It abolished poll taxes. Its restrictions upon 
the powers of the legislature are so comprehensive, that sessions 
must diminish, and the legislature be confined to subjects only 
of a general nature. This constitution was intended to be an improve- 
ment upon all others, and having the experience of a hundred years 
of the practical working of self-government in this country, the authors 
of this organic law certainly had the opportunity of presenting a 
scheme the most perfectly adapted to the circumstances and wants of 
the people. They improved the opportunity according to their knowl- 
edge, and made an important advance in the right direction. Experi- 
ence will soon demonstrate where there will be friction, what provis- 
ions are unwise, and what will require amendment. Too much looking 
to and dependence on the government, and too much legislation, have been 
among the great evils of our country. By common consent, this new 
constitution, applies a remedy in its unusual restrictions upon the powers 
of the legislature, and while it does not abdicate all power, and pro- 
tects the people against legislative monopolies and special privileges, 
yet leaves them more than ever to themselves under the influence of 
general laws, with further debt prohibited and expenses and taxes 



13 



reduced. The occupation of the political jobber, of the professional 
lobbyist, and of the corruptionist, is much diminished in Missouri ; 
and men of peace and industry may now resort there in full confidence 
of the enjoyment of liberty, conscience, and of the fruits of their labor, 
with good schools and cheap government. 

The first constitution of the State enjoined the establishment of free 
schools in each township, as soon as practicable and necessary. But it 
was not until 1839 that the legislature established the public school 
system, which impartially embraced all persons between the ages of 5 
and 21 years. Attendance might be made compulsory to the extent 
that the general assembly may require that every child of sufficient 
mental and physical ability shall attend the public schools during the 
period between the ages of 5 and 18 years, for a time equivalent to six- 
teen months, unless educated by other means. And in order to 
become a qualified voter, it was made necessary by the constitution of 
1865, unless qualified previous to the 1st of January, 1876, that a man 
should be able to read and write. This was abrogated by the constitu- 
tion of 1875, and the requirement of gratuitous instruction was made 
applicable to all persons between the ages of six and tAventy years. 

The system is conducted by a state superintendent of public schools, 
who is elected by the people for a term of four years, by a commis- 
sioner for each county, and by a board of trustees for each local school 
district. A state board of education is created by uniting the State 
superintendent of Public Schools, together with the Secretary of State, 
Attorney General and the Governor, and this board exercises supervision 
over the entire school system of the State ; but the chief constructive 
or organizing and executive duties devolve upon the superintendent. 
Each school district holds an annual meeting, at which the business is 
transacted by a majority vote of the people. They elect a county 
commissioner every two years, and one local director to serve for three 
years. Each district must keep a school at least three months in the 
year to entitle it to receive any portion of the state school funds. For 
this, the directors must provide. If a longer time than four months is 
desired, it must be ordered by a vote of the people. No order can be 
made which would require a tax levy of more than four mills per cent 
for teachers wages ; but for buildings and current expenses, including 
existing indebtness, any amount within five per cent may be ordered, 
by a vote of two-thirds of the qualified voters present and voting in 
any one year. Special laws commit to city and town boards, large 
discretion in respect to the details of school management. 



14 

The means for the support of the public schools was originally 
largely derived from grants of land by the United States. To this re- 
source has been added direct local taxation. 

From the proceeds of the sales of the public lands granted for this 
purpose, and from other investments and care of the funds, the school 
fund of the State now amounts to nearly $3,000,000. 

The interest on this fund, with 25 per cent of the state revenue, con- 
stitutes the annual supply apportioned to all the children of the State 
between the ages of six and twenty years. This fund in 1874, amounted 
to $410,269.31, which gave about fifty-eight cents to each person 
enumerated. County school funds arise chiefly from the sale of 
" swamp and over-flowed lands," donated by the general government 
to the State, amounting, originally, to 4,300,000 acres, and patented to 
the counties for school purposes. This money is loaned on secur- 
ity by county courts, and the interest devoted to the annual support of 
the schools. 

The township school fund has been derived from a grant by the 
Federal Government, of the sixteenth section in each township, and 
amounting, in the aggregate, to 1,200,000 acres. These lands have 
been mostly sold, and the proceeds invested for the benefit of the town- 
ship schools. The three funds. State, County, and Township, amount, 
in the agregate, to about $7,500,000. 

The number of children* in the State between the ages of five and 
twenty-one years, is between 700,000 and 800,000, and of this number 
over one-half are enrolled in the schools. 

There are 7,224 school-houses in the State, and 9,676 teachers. 

There are 7,829 public schools, 661 private, 3 normal schools, and 
1 state university. The latter embraces seven colleges, including an 
agricultural school. 

The cost of education based on enumeration is about $3 per scholar, 
and the cost per scholar based on attendance is $5.70. 

Owing to the peculiar condition of the colored race, excejDtional 
advantages are provided for colored children, and the normal depart- 
ment of Lincoln Institute (colored, at Jefferson City) receives a special 
appropriation from the State of $5,000 annually. 

In the city of St. Louis, with its population of nearly half a million, 
the development in respect to the facilities of education has been very 
great and rapid, especially during the past five years. The enrolment 
in school has increased from 1 in 83 in 1841, to 1 in 10 of the entire 
population in 1 875. 



15 

From certain vacant lots in and about the city granted by act of 
congress, of 1812, a school fund, valued at present at $1,252,895, has 
been accumulated. But the general increment by investment in property 
in use for school purposes, under the management of the " Board of Presi- 
dent and Directors of the St. Louis Public Schools," amounts to $3,500,- 
000. The board also possesses the power of levying and collecting a city 
tax not exceeding one-half of one per cent. The revenue of the board for 
the year 1874-5, from rents, real estate sold, state school fund, but 
from taxes chiefly, amounted to $845,382. With these ample powers 
and means, a magnificent system of schools has been built up, furnishing 
free education to the youth of the city in all branches required, from 
the lowest primary grades, up to the finished education of the man of 
business. In, all they number over sixty schools, including a central 
high school, four branch high schools, one normal school for the train- 
ing of female teachers, six schools for colored children, forty-three 
district schools, and three kindergarten schools. There is also a system 
of evening schools during the winter, in which are taught the elemen- 
tary studies of a polytechnic education. A flourishing public school 
library, containing 40,000 volumes, is connected with the system. 
Different religious denominations also provide means of education in 
addition, and the Catholics particularly have erected, and continue to 
erect, fine structures devoted to school purposes. The system of educa- 
tion, therefore, happily keeps pace with the rapid growth of the City 
and State. 

Somewhat akin to schools, and a necessary auxiliary, are the pro- 
ducts of the printing press. The number of libraries of all kinds, 
public, special, and private, was 5,645, containing 1,065,638 volumes. 
Of these, eleven were town and city libraries ; fifty were school and 
college ; one hundred and twenty-five court and law ; one thousand five 
hundred and twenty-six sabbath schools and churches, and twenty- 
eight were circulating libraries. 

The printing press is active. Though large numbers of foreign 
publications are used, yet almost every town of any importance has 
its newspaper. The number of periodicals of all classes is stated to be 
over three hundred, issuing in the course of a year, about fifty million 
copies, and having a regular circulation, as published, of between 
500,000 and 600,000 copies. The census of 1870 enumerated twenty- 
one daily newspapers, with a circulation, in the aggregate, of S6,555 
copies ; 5 tri-weeklies, with a circulation of 13,800 copies ; 225 week- 



16 

lies, with a circulation of 342,361 copies ; 3 semi-mouthly, circulating 
22,000 copies ; 23 monthlies, circulating 53,650 copies ; 5 bi-monthly, 
with 1500 copies, and 1 quarterly, issuing 3,000 copies. There is, 
therefore, no lack of efficiency through the schools and the press in the 
diffusion of intelligence in Missouri. 

The number of church organizations in the State, according to the 
census of 1870, is 3,229 ; church edifices 2,082 ; sittings, 691,520, and 
the value of property belonging to the church organizations, $9,709,- 
358, of which $4,000,000 is claimed as belonging to the Koman Cath- 
olics. Kext to these in numbers, in the order named, are the Baptists, 
the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Christians, the German Evan- 
gelical, the Episcopaleans, the Congregationalists, the Israelites, the 
Evangelical Lutherans, the United Brethren in Christ, the Universal- 
ists, the Swedenborgiaus, the Unitarians, the Friends, and several sub- 
divisions, or off-shoots, perhaps, of some of the above principal denom- 
inations. A number of these denominations maintain schools and 
colleges, and print papers and magazines devoted to their special 
interests. 

As to Eleemosynary institutions, there are excellent hospitals for the 
sick, homes for the friendless, asylums for the blind, the idiotic and 
insane, and aid for the immigrant. 

i}f^iv mmhtvs. 

The United States census does not account for the occupation of one- 
third of the population. Of the number of 505,556 over ten years of 
age of known occupations, much the larger number is engaged in 
agriculture. An imperfect idea of the occupation of the people, and 
of the division of. labor may be obtained, by enumerating the per- 
sons engaged in the principal lines of industry. There were, for ex- 
ample, employed in agriculture, 263,918 ; in professional and personal 
services, 106,903 ; in Manufactures, Mechanics and Mines, 79,850 ; in 
Trade and Transportation, 54,885. It is also interesting to note the 
number employed in the chief sub-divisions of labor and professional 
life. As for example, of Lawyers there were 3,452 ; of Physicians, 
3,560 ; of Clergymen, 1,739 ; of Teachers, 4,421 ; of Carpenters, 
11,737 ; of Blacksmiths, 5,661 ; of Tailors and Seamstresses, 5,243 ; of 
Boot and Shoemakers, 3,737 ; of Brick and Stone Masons, 3,671 ; of 
Painters and Varnishers, 3,226 ; of Miners, 2,831 ; of launderers and 



17 

Launclressess, 3,371 ; and nearly an equal number, say not far from 
2,000 each, of Printers, and ^Butchers, Harness and Saddle Makers, 
Coopers, Millers, Milliners, and Dress Makers, Carriage and Wagon 
Makers, Plasterers, Pestaurant Keepers, Employees of Hotels and 
Restaurants, Engineers and Firemen, but a less number in the other 
pursuits, excepting Traders, Clerks, Laborers, and Domestic Servants, 
which embrace larger numbers than any of the sub-divisions mentioned. 

Of this population, numbering in 1870, 1,721,295, of whom 896,347 
were males, and 824,949 were females, 1,499,028, were natives of the 
United States, and 222,268 were foreign born. Of all these, 874,006 
being a little over one-half, were born in Missouri. The rest are emi- 
grants. Of the United States, Kentucky has furnished the larger num- 
ber, viz: 102,861; Ohio the next, 76,062 ; and then Illinois, 72,623; 
Tennesee, 70,212 ; Virginia, 51,306 ; Indiana, 51,301 ; Pennsylvania 
35,384; New York, 31,805; Iowa, 22,456; North Carolina, 18,755; 
Arkansas, 10,964 ; Maryland, 7,619 ; Massachusetts, 6,731 ; AVisconsin, 
6.282; Alabama, 5,243 ; Kansas, 4,940; Michigan, 4,570; Louisiana, 
4,045 ; Mississippi, 3,484 ; and a less number from each of the other 
States, so that every State in the Union has contributed more or less, 
to the population of Missouri. 

Of the emigrants from foreign countries, Germany has furnished the 
largest number, viz : 113,618, and Ireland the next, 54,983 ; then 
England, 14,314; then British America, 8,448; next Switzerland, 
6,597 ; next France, 6,293 ; next Bohemia, 3,517 ; next Scotland, 
3,283 ; and a less number in the order named by Sweden, 2,302 ; 
Austria, 1,493 ; Holland, 1,167 ; Italy, 936 ; Denmark, Poland, Hun- 
gary, Belgium, Norway, Pussia, Mexico, Spain, and China. 

The number of persons to the square mile is, at present, estimated at 
30. At the same rate of increase of the decade between 1860 and 
1870, we may reasonably expect, in 1880, to number a population in 
Missouri, of 2,600,000. Were it as thickly populated to the square 
mile as in Euroj^e, the number would be simply double that we count 
on in 1880, or 5,228,000. 

There are 41,824,000 acres of land in Missouri. Of these, according 
to the census, more than half, viz : 21,707.220 acres were embraced in 
farms, of which, 9,130,615 acres were improved, and 12,576,605 were 
unimproved. The value of the farms were estimated at $392,908,047 ; 
of farming implements and machinery, $15,596,426, and of live stock 
on farms, $84,285,273. Total value, $492,789,746. The value of farm 



18 

products was $103,035,759. The number of horses in the State in 
January, 1875, was estimated to be 570,100 ; average price $43.10. 
Value, $24,571,310. Of mules and asses, 125,000; average price, 
$58.27 ; value, $7,283,750 ; of milch cows, 421,400 ; average price $19,50 ; 
value, $8,117,300 ; of working oxen and other cattle 790,100; average 
price, $14.73 ; value, $11,638,173. Of sheep, 1,366,200 ; average price, 
$1.91; value, $2,609,442. And of swine, 2,082,600; average price 
$3.13 ; value, $6,518,538. There has been a diminution in the average 
value of farm animals of about 33 per cent in the ten last years, but a 
larger proportion of increase in quantity. 

Of those persons enumerated as engaged in agriculture, there were 
174,961 farmers, 53 farm overseers, and 86,807 laborers. There were 
1,271 gardeners and nurserymen, 14 florists, 385 dairies, 234 stock 
drovers and herders, 18 stock raisers, and 164 vine growers. Total 
employed in agriculture, 263,918. 

The area cultivated, and the product and value of each of the prin- 
cipal farm crops for 1874, as given by the statistician of the United 
States Agricultural Bureau, were as follows : 





BUSHELS. 


ACKES. 


VALUE. 

$34,076,260 


av.prod. 

per acre, vdiue. 


Indian Corn, 


46,049,000 


2,878,062 


16. .74 


Wheat, 


15,385,000 


1,139,629 


12,769,550 


13.5 1 .83 


Eye, 


454,000 


30,884 


313,260 


14.7 ! .69 


Oats, 


13,319,000 


605,409 


6,259,930 


22. \ .47 


Barley, 


226,000 


12,417 


241,820 


18.2 1.07 


Buckwheat, 


25,000 


1,923 


17,250 


13. .69 


Potatoes, 


2,022,000 


50,550 


1,718,700 


40. .85 


Tobacco, lbs. 


13,860,000 


18,237 


1,524,600 


760. .11 


Hay, tons, 


588,900 


478,780 


7,096,245 1.2312.05 



Number of acres 5,213,891. Total value of these crops $64,017,615. 

The average value per acre of these products, was, of corn, $11.84 ; 
Wheat, $11.20; Rye, $10.14; Oats, $10.34; Barley, $19.47 ; Buck- 
wheat, $8.97 ; Potatoes, $34 ; Tobacco, $83.60 ; and of Hay, $14.82. 

Total average cash value of these principal crops per acre $12.27. 

These statistics are only approximate. Compared with those of 1864, 
they show that the live stock of the State increased in value from $44,- 
431,766, to $60,838,813, ($84,285,273, according to the census of 1870) 
and the value of the products mentioned, from $52,996,592, to $64,- 
017,615. 



19 

The principal increase in farm products has been in wheat, potatoes, 
oats, and corn, but there has been also a large increase in the products 
of the dairy. We should add that the census of 1870 showed a pro- 
duction of 14,455,825 lbs. of butter ; 204,090 lbs. of cheese ; 857,704 
gallons of milk sold; 3,649,390 lbs. of wool; 43,986 bushels peas 
and beans ; 441,253 bushels sweet potatoes ; 326,173 gallons wine ; 
1,730,171 gallons sorghum molasses ; 16,317 gallons maple syrup, and 
1,156,444 lbs. honey. There are other productions of the farm, not 
enumerated, of considerable importance, such as cotton, which grows in 
the southeastern counties ; hemp, flax, broom-corn, melons, castor beans, 
pea-nuts, and fruits. The grasses, such as timothy, clover, millet, rye, 
hungarian and blue grass, succeed well in all parts of the State. The 
same may be said of apples, pears, peaches, grapes, and all the smaller 
fruits, and nearly every variety of field and garden vegetables. In 
respect to the latter, probably no market in the world is better sup- 
plied all the year round, than that of the city of St. Louis. 

The trade in the chief articles of agricultural produce was largely 
increased in the last few years, at the chief city of the State. The re- 
ceipts of wheat amount to about eight million bushels annually, and about 
three million barrels of flour are handled in the year, of which about 
one-half are manufactured in the city. The quality of this wheat and 
flour is scarcely equaled any where in the world. 

In respect to pork packing, Missouri is only excelled by Illinois and 
Ohio. 

The proportion which the number of those engaged in agriculture 
bear to all occupations is 52.20 per centum, and their average earnings 
per individual is $390. 

In respect to manufactures, the census statistics are not full. They 
give 65,354 as the number of persons employed in industrial establish- 
ments. The capital employed, $80,257,244. The wages paid $31,055,- 
445. The value of material used, $115,533,269. And the value of 
the product $206,213,429. These figures give about $907 as the value 
of the product of each individual engaged, over the amount paid for 
wages, raw material, and interest on capital. The statistics show that 
labor employed in manufacturing industry in Missouri is better paid, 
with few possible exceptions, than it is in any other part of the world. 
I will mention a few of the chief lines of industry in Missouri, showing 
some of the larger results. Bagging; value of the products, $5,112,- 
250 ; boots and shoes, $4,099,552 ; malt liquors, $6,519,548 ; lumber. 



20 

$6,363,112; men's clothing, $7,271,962; saddlery and harness, 
$5,424,635; pork products, $13,621,795; tobacco in snuff, chewing and 
cigars, $10,415,604; workers in iron, $12,362,874; flouring and grist- 
mill products, $31,837,352, etc. 

In respect to mineral resources, there is such an extent and variety, 
that the limits of a single address cannot do the subject justice. Prob- 
ably no territory of equal extent on the continent contains so many 
and so large quantities of the most useful minerals. 

The most important, perhaps, are iron, lead, and coal. The iron 
ores are the red hematite, specular, limonite, hydrous oxide, magnetic 
and spathic. The largest deposits are found in the hills of the Pilot 
Knob and Iron Mountain region, and seem to be j^ractically inexhaus- 
tible. But these ores are also found in 94 of the 114 counties of the 
State. They are largely shipped to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Penn- 
sylvania, and they are smelted in several localities in Missouri in char- 
coal furnaces, and in St. Louis by the use of coke and bituminious coal. 
Though the business has fallen off 50 per cent or more since 1873, 
owning to the general torpidity of trade, yet the receipts at St. Louis 
in 1875, of pig iron, were 59,053 tons, and of iron ore 175,335 tons. 

The Missouri coal basin is one of the largest known in the world. It 
covers an area of more than 27,000 square miles in Missouri alone, or 
nearly one-half the State. The only varieties discovered are the cau- 
nel, and the common bituminious coal. The quality is conjectural, 
but the supply may be said to be inexhaustible. Of the other useful 
minerals found and worked, we may mention, zinc, copjjer, cobalt, 
nickel, and manganese. 

Then there are marbles, and sandstones of various shades and qual- 
ities, granite and sienite, porphyry, flint, green stone, trap, limestones, 
pebbles and gravels, and abundance of clays for bricks and pottery, 
and of paints and baryta. 

!f nltiritl l|J$ton|. 

Commencing in 1852, the State has caused several geological sur- 
veys to be made, and a considerable part of the results have been pub- 
lished in the several volumes of Swallow, of Pumpelly, and of 
Broadhead. A school of mines at Holla, and a professorship of min- 
ing and metallurgy in Washington University, have added to the 
collection and diffusion of valuable knowledge upon these subjects, so 
that we are much better acquainted with the physical condition of our 
State and its resources than ever before. In surveying the results of 



21 

these investigations, we cannot fail to see that there is a geological 
record of great interest in Missouri. In fixing the physical status, the 
creator left indelible marks in which the scientific observer fancies he 
can read the history of the creation. He sees, first, the mountain 
peaks of granite, porphyry, slates and iron rising out of the azoic seas. 
Then followed, according to the speculative geologist, the magnesian 
limestones and sandstones, shown, by the enormous shells, to have been 
the age of Mollusks. Next came the age of fishes, when the carboni- 
ferous limestones were deposited. Then revolved, through vast cycles, 
the age of plants, during which the turbulent elements laid down the 
coal beds. The age of reptiles succeeded, when the saurians and lizards 
sported in the waters. This was followed by the age of mammals, dur- 
ing which the mastodon and other families of monstrous animals 
flourished, whose remains we find buried in the diluvial formations. 
The changes which ensued, whether of the power of water, of ice, or of 
fire, finished the great work, and left us the bluffs, the prairies, the 
rivers with their bottom lands, the boulders, the lakes, and the swamps. 
The larger animals disappearing, were followed by the buffalo, the elk, 
the deer, the beaver, and all those animals of the present time. The 
forests rose, the vegetable kingdom started with rank luxuriance, and 
finally the age of man commenced. 

Missouri has a great variety of surface, and a great variety of soils. 
The latter are made up by the mingling of organic matter with the com- 
minuted marls, clays, and sands of the quaternary deposits, which 
cover nearly all parts of the State with a vast abundance of the very 
best materials for their rapid formation. Hence the soils of the State 
are very deep and wonderfully productive, save in those limited locali- 
ties where the materials of the quaternary strata are unusually coarse, 
or entirely wanting. 

The alluvial deposits of the river bottoms consist most largely of 
sand, but it is intermixed with calcarious clays and decomposed organic 
matter. The rapid growth of vegetable life upon them, and its quick 
decay, create a stratum of humus, and thus an inexhaustible supply is 
kept up for the support of rank vegetation, including the most stately 
forest trees. It is estimated that there are 4,000,000 acres of these 
rich bottom lands in the valleys of the two great rivers of the State, 
while there are no less than 1,500,000 acres of the Savannahs, or bot- 
tom prairies, which are nearly as rich. These constitute the soils of the 
greatest fertility. The bluff" formation is, t^ographically, elevated 
several hundred feet above the others, and rests uj)on ridges, drifts and 
rocks, and is composed of a buflf colored, silicious, and somewhat indu- 



22 

rated marl. On the highlands of South ]\Iissouri, it is more argillace- 
ous, and is covered ^vith a stratum of vegetable mould of varying 
depth. 

Drawing a line from near Hannibal, to the southwestern part of the 
State, we find that the country north of that line is nearly all prairie, 
while that south of the line is mostly forest. 

It is estimated that there are 35,000,000 acres of arable land in 
Missouri, of which nearly half is high rolling prairie. With proper 
cultivation, the results of planting are far greater than the average 
statistics show. Wheat often yields 50 bushels to the acre, and corn 
from 80 to 125 bushels. Fruits, melons, and roots grow to an enor- 
mous size. The flora of the State embraces the usual varieties of that 
latitude. Some 500 specimens are shown in this Centennial Exposition. 
Among the natural shrubs, are the alder, the blackberry, the bladder- 
nut, the blueberry, the burning bush, the butter bush, the coral berry, 
the currant, the dogwood, the elder, the green brier, the gooseberry, 
the hazel, the haw, the holly, the honey-suckle, the rose, the raspberry, 
the sumach, the spirea, the service-berry, the spice bush, the staff tree, 
the trumpet creeper, and the winter-berry. Among the forest trees 
are the ashes, the lindens, the beech, the red birch, the buckeye, the 
box elder, the wild plum, the crab apple, the sycamore, the cedar, 
cherry, coffee tree,cotton wood, elms, gums, seven kinds Of hickory, 
horn-beam, judas tree, locust, maples, mulberry, eighteen kinds of oak, 
osage orange, papaw, pecan, persimmon, pine, pojDlar, sassafras, wal- 
nuts, and willows. These form the grand and beautiful forests. 
Individual trees are found of magnificent proj^ortions. For example : 
cypress, 130 feet high, and 29 feet in circumference ; catalpa, 90 feet 
high, and 10 feet in circumference ; sycamore, 130 feet high, and 43 
feet in circumference; walnuts, 110 feet high, and 22 feet in circum- 
ference ; Oaks, over 100 feet high, and 28 feet in circumference ; 
and the beach, 120 feet high, and 18 feet in circumference. Among 
the inhabitants of the forest are found, a few elk, bear, deer, 
wolf, fox, beaver, otter, raccoon, opposum, mink, musk-rat, wild-cat, 
rabbits, and the squirrels. Among the birds are : the eagles, buzzards 
hawks, crows, swan, wild geese, cranes, herons, pelican, cormorant, 
owls, and the wild turkey, pinnated grouse, ruffed grouse, partridge, 
about twenty varieties of wild duck, grebes, divers, gulls, mergansers, 
and pigeons, doves, plover, sand-pipers, rail, snipe, curlew, woodcock, 
and nearly all the smaller birds of the continent. The forests are vocal 
with their music. The principal fishes are : the pike, the bass, the 
crappie, the so-called jack salmon, the buffalo, and the cat. Of rep- 



tiles there are very few. Of insects, there all the varieties of a tem- 
perate climate, and a few of those of more tropical regions. The 
tarantula, and its blue digger wasp parasite, come into the State from 
Texas. The Colorado beetle and Rocky Mountain locust, from the 
west, and a cabbage pest from the South, and some others from the 
east. There are those which are beneficial as w^ell as those which are 
injurious to the crops. Eight years ago, the State, following the 
example of older governments, created the office of entomologist. 
That officer (Prof. Riley)has issued eight reports of great value, and 
creditable to the author and the State. Apart from their scientific 
interest, they are, especially in the suggestion of remedies, adapted to 
the wants of those whose productions are exposed to the depredations 
of insects. 

Missouri, lying in the central part of the great plain between the 
Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains, yet is too remote from the 
mountain ranges to be protected or apparently affected by them. 
Bordered by the Mississippi and cut in twain by the Missouri, and well 
watered by their numerous affluents, she is open to the river valleys in 
all directions, and open to the unobstructed winds from all points of 
the compass. Though five hundred miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, 
she is not beyond the reach of the winds that blow over that sea to the 
north-west, and, deflected to the north-east, furnish the predominating 
south-west wind, and all the hurricanes and tornadoes to which she is 
subject. A climate, mild, and on the whole a dry one, yet is one of 
extremes in heat and cold, moisture and drought. Her elevation 
above the sea is from about 275 feet at her south-eastern corner, to 445 
feet on the north-east corner. While on the Missouri river, it rises 
from near 400 feet at its mouth, to over 1000 feet at the north-west 
corner of the State. The valley of the Missouri lies much higher, 
therefore, than the valley of the Mississippi. The banks of these 
rivers rise from 50 to 200 feet higher than low water mark, and as- 
cending their affluents the land rises from 400 to 600 feet higher still. 
In the southern portion of the State, the country is much broken, and 
in many places mountainous, and the, Ozark range of hills, extending 
from near Iron Mountain south-west, are elevated several hundred feet 
higher then the northern plateau, and some of the mountain peaks are 
nearly 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. This range of hills divides 
the waters in the southern part of the State, the larger portion of which 
flow northward into the Missouri, and aftects the climate somewhat 



24 

locally, and shields the southern portion of the State from the north 
winds. 

The mean temperature of the country near St. Louis, from the re- 
cords of forty years, kept by Dr. Engleman, is 53 degrees. 

The mean temperature of the winter season (December 1st, to last 
of February) is estimated at 32 degrees, and of the summer (June 1st, 
to August 31st) at 75 degrees, while that of the Spring and Autumn, 
is about that of the mean temperature of the whole year. The mean 
temperature of Winter and Si3ring are the most variable. The extremes 
of temperature have indicated as low as 23 degrees below zero in winter, 
and as high as 104 degrees above in Summer. 

The last frosts in Spring occur on an average about April 5th, and the 
first frosts of autumn on an average, about October 27th. The inter- 
mediate period of exemption from frost averages 205 days. The 
Mississippi River is frozen over about once in four or five years, and 
sometimes it is closed as far south as Belmont, the south-eastern terminus 
of the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, twenty miles 
south of the mouth of the Ohio. It rarely remains closed half the win- 
ter. The Missouri River is sometimes closed by ice in the latter part 
of November, and has been known to remain frozen into the first week 
of March. Snow is rather exceptional, but has been known to fall 
about St. Louis as early as October 5th, and as late as April 16th. It 
rarely continues for more than a few days at a time, though six weeks 
of fair sleighing has occurred, and in March 1876, snow fell to the 
depth of nearly a foot all over the State even to the Arkansas border. 

The average rainfall, including melted snow, about St. Louis, is 41 
inches, but it varies considerably in different years. It has been as 
low as 25, and as high as 68 inches. Our regular rainy season extends 
from the middle of April to the middle of July, comprising the latter 
part of Spring and the earlier part of Summer. The average quantity 
is least in January and February, increases until June, is much less 
in July and August, and from September to December is only somewhat 
higher than in January and February. Our Summer rains mostly 
descend with great abundance, and in a comparatively short time. On 
the average, we have 92 days in the year on which it rains, so that, on 
the whole, we enjoy an unusual amount of fair weather. The rains are 
frequently sudden and short, rarely lasting over twenty-four hours. 
Our rivers rise generally between April and June, and mostly in con- 
sequence of the rains. On the southern slopes of the Ozark Hills they 
rise quickly and run off rapidly. The Missouri sometimes overflows 
the adjacent bottom lands, and the Mississippi rises sometimes not over 



25 

twenty or twenty-five feet, but occasionally, as in 1844, as much as 42 
feet above low water mark. As this flood was from the Kansas River, 
so from the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennesee, the Mississippi 
on the southeastern borders of the State, often rises 30 to 40 feet above 
low water mark. In the fall and winter months the rivers are gener- 
ally low. 

If w^e may judge of the health of a place by its bills of mortality, 
then we must infer that the City of St. Louis is the healthiest large 
city in the United States. The death rate is less than 16 in 1,000, 
which is lower than the rate reported in all the other large cities. 



Missouri is well watered by numerous springs, creeks, and rivers. 
The Mississippi flows along the eastern border of the State for a distance 
of nearly 540 miles. The Missouri River runs along nearly one-half 
the western border, separating the State from Nebraska and Kan- 
sas, for a distance of about 250 miles, and then flows southeastward 
through the State 436 miles further to its confluence with the Mississ- 
ippi. Both these rivers are navigable for large steamers far beyond 
the borders of Missouri. 

The principal tributaries of the Missouri, within the State, are : the 
Nishnabotna, Big Tarkio, Nodaway, One Hundred and Two, Platte, 
Grand, Chariton, and Cedar Creek, and Loutre River from the north, 
and the Blue, Big Sniabar, La Mine, Osage, and Gasconade from the 
south. The principal tributaries of the Mississippi, within the State, 
are : Fox, North and South Fabius, Salt and Cuivre Rivers from the 
northwest, and the waters of the rivers so far named flow by St. Louis ; 
while south of St. Louis, the Meramec, Establishment, Saline, and 
Apple Creeks flow into the Mississippi, and the Little, the St. Francis, 
Black, Current, Eleven Points, Big North Fork of White, and White 
Rivers, flow south into the Arkansas, and Elk and Spring Rivers flow 
west into the Indian Territory and Kansas. Several of these rivers, 
such as the Grand, the Osage, the Gasconade, the St. Francis, and the 
White Rivers are navigable for small steamers, and some of them are 
never closed by ice. The Des Moines River separates the State from 
low^a for about 30 miles at the northeast corner, and the St. Francis 
River separates it from Arkansas for about 40 miles in the southeast 
part of the State. 

Omitting the narrow strip of land projecting 30 or 40 miles below the 
principal line of boundary in the southeast, the State lies between the 



26 

the parallels of 36.30 and 40.30 north latitude, and between 12.2 and 
18.51 longitude west from Washington. It has Iowa on the north, the 
Mississippi separating it from Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee on the 
east, and it is bounded on the south by Arkansas, and on the west by 
the Indian Territory for about 40 miles, and by Kansas and Nebraska. 
Its extreme width, from east to west, is about 348 miles, but its average 
width is about 235 miles, while its length omitting the narrow projection 
before mentioned, is about 282 miles. The distance from the northeast 
corner of ^the State, diagonally across to its southwest corner, is about 
320 miles, and its longest line is, from the extreme northwest to its 
southwest corner, about 450 miles. 

Of course, in a State of such size and extent, there must be a 
great diversity of soil and resources, and some difference in climate. 
Accordingly we find the southeast part of the State possessing the most 
moisture, and the mean temperature 2 J to 3 degrees higher than at St. 
Louis, and 5^ degrees higher than in the northeastern angle, while the 
mean temperature of the northwest is 2 degrees less than that of the 
region about St. Louis. The mean annual temj^erature of the south- 
east is 55 degrees. That of the central part of the State about 53 
degrees, and that of the northern portion about 50 degrees. 

Of little avail, in the development of a State, are fertile lands and 
great latent resources, unless there are facilities for mobilizing the pro- 
ducts of labor, and rendering exchange and commerce in them conven- 
ient. The means of safe and speedy transit bring together the elements 
of power and render them available in the highest degree for the rapid 
promotion of the public wealth. Her navigable streams, and her com- 
mon roads were the sole means of transit and transportation, until 
within twenty-five years. The flat boat and the keel boat propelled up 
stream by towing by means of men and ropes, and down stream by the 
force of the current, have been more or less in use from the beginning. But 
the appearance of the steamboat in 1817, rapidly enlarged the powers 
and results of commerce, and St. Louis grew to be, perhaps, the largest 
steamboat port in the world. The State, on two or three occasions, 
attempted an improvement of her interior rivers, and the Federal 
government has, at various times, removed snags from the Missouri 
and Mississippi, and aided in preserving the harbor of St. Louis. But 
with all her large water power, and her extensive river navigation, 
nothing of a practical nature of importance had been undertaken pre- 
vious to 1850 in the way of internal improvements. Then was inaug- 



urated a' spirit and a system, which, in less than two years, provided 
for a geological survey of the State, and for the introduction of 
improved roads, telegraphs, and railroads, and which, wisely embracing 
in its scope all sections of the State, but converging all upon a common- 
commercial centre, led the locomotive for the first time across the Missis- 
sippi and into Missouri in the year 1852. The successful introduction of 
rail roads into Missouri, though based on private capital and enterprise, 
was largely due to the use of the public credit. This was at that time, 
as it is now, better than gold. The original plan was a judicious one, 
and contemplated a loan of credit duly secured, and only equal in 
amount to the private capital first expended. A subsequent departure 
from this plan may have led to some works which private capital would 
not have undertaken. • But the total amount advanced by the State in 
aid of its own internal improvement, by the construction of railroads, from 
first to last, did not exceed $23,000,000 ; an amount, which, to many 
seemed an onerous burden, but which, really led to such rapid develop- 
ment that the ravages of insects among the increased crops of the State 
amounted to more than that in value in two seasons. And though the 
State, subsequently, and perhaps, unnecessarily, surrendered to private 
enterprise, all its pecuniary interest in the six railways it had aided, at 
the rate of about $6,000,000, for what cost it $18,000,000, yet as it 
secured the completion and extension of the system, there are few persons 
now who do not regard it as a wise and profitable expenditure. There 
are now about twenty raihvay companies in the State, and though 
railway building practically ceased in 1873, there are about 3,000 
miles of railway in operation in Missouri. The property of the rail- 
ways themselves furnish an assessed value for taxation of three times 
the amount the State ever expended, while the enhancement of the 
public wealth along the lines may be safely computed at four times 
their cost in addition. The main trunk lines were simply indispensable 
to enable the state, in its progress, to keep step with the movements of 
modern times. But it has done better than answering a necessary pur- 
pose ; it has rapidly built up a powerful city, as its metropolis, to that of 
the fourth in rank in the United States, to which it brings annually five 
times as much tonnage as all the rivers put together, and has brought the 
whole State into near fellowship with the rest of the world, and secured to 
it the wealth and importance which nature seems to have intended for it. 
It has magnificently spanned the Mississippi with three, and the Missouri 
with four bridges. The principal parts of the State are now accessible, 
by rail, in two days time, from the cities of the Atlantic se.aboard, or 
of the Gulf of Mexico, or from the northern borders of the United 



28 

States, or from those near the base of the Rocky Mountains. And, by 
means of the railway system, the city of St. Louis, already numbering 
near 500,000 inhabitants, has rendered a vast country tributary to its 
commerce, and it has risen to be one of the chief marts of cotton, coffee, 
sugar, grain and flour, beef and pork, coal, iron, lumber, and various 
other merchandise. In consequence of the introduction of railways, 
transportation by the water lines has gradually declined, and with the 
exception of the Mississippi, river navigation can scarcely be said to be 
at present much in use. The arrivals of boats at St. Louis in 1866, 
numbered 2,972, and of barges, 1,142, and the registered tonnage was 
1,227,073. The number of departures of boats was 3,096. But in 
1875, the number of arrivals of boats fell to 2,201, and of barges to 
743, and the tons of freight received by them amounted to 663,525 ; 
the departures w^ere 2,223, and the tons of freight shipped 639,095, of 
which over one-half floated down the Mississippi. But the tons shipped 
by rail in 1875, were 1,301,450, and the tons received by rail, 3,232,770. 

The United States Government maintains intimate and important 
relations with the State through its post-oflices, its custom houses, and 
collection oflices, its land oflices, its military posts, its courts, and the 
banks established under its authority. The amount paid by the 
people of Missouri, under the internal revenue law, during the last 
fiscal year was $4,591,856. Six states only paid more. The number 
of national banks in the State is 35, with a paid capital of $9,095,300 ; 
bonds deposited, $2,763,400 ; circulation outstanding, $4,372,104 ; 
ratio of dividends to capital in the State for six months from March 
1st, to September 1st, 1875, 4.6. 

The United States arsenal at St. Louis, has been an important fac- 
tory of amunition and depot of arms. The Jefierson barracks, a few 
miles below, was long an eligible rendezvous for troops, and contains 
now within its boundaries, a national cemetery, in which some 10,000 
lie buried. Fort Leavenworth, on the western borders of the State, 
was, for many years an important post, and one of the most beautiful 
situations in the west. 

The valuation of the real and personal estate of Missouri in 1870 
was $1,294,922,897, or $746 for each inhabitant. 

Supposing the average annual increase, for the last six years, has 
been less than the previous ten years, say only 3 per cent, and we have, 



29 

upon that basis, as the present valuation of the State, 81,516,209,018, 
which, estimating the population to be now 2,000,000, gives about 
$750 as the present worth of each inhabitant. The State debt is 
$17,480,000, and as it cannot be increased, will probably diminish. 
The State tax on j^roperty, exclusive of the tax to pay interest on 
bonded debt, cannot exceed twenty cents on the hundred dollars of 
valuation. 

Missouri, therefore, has not only not been idle during the century, 
but eminently successful in laying the foundations of prosperity and 
happiness ; nor has she failed to contribute her part to the nations 
increment of grandeur and glory. True to the principles of the fathers 
of our Great Republic, she has nourished them, and developed them, 
and provided safeguards for them, as well for actual enjoyment, as for 
perpetuity, perhaps to an extent and fullness unexcelled by any other 
State. An empire in herself, sovereign as to all matters not granted 
to the Federal Government, free, central in position, great in extent 
and resources, mild in climate, fertile in soil, open to all the world, 
and accessible to all, with her constitutional standard full high ad- 
vanced, a firm yet comparatively cheap government, a State but fifty- 
six years of the century ; there she stands, with her growing family of 
two millions, a fair and inviting example of the capabilities of a demo- 
cratic people living, so short a period, under the constitution of the 
United States. 

Note. — The greater part of this address is necessarily a compilation. I 
acknowledge my indebtedness to Prof. Swallow, Dr. Engelman, Mr. Switzler, and 
to Campbells late Gazetteer. 



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